The Hedgehog or the Fox?

My Executive MBA class had a good debate this last week about the business approaches between a Hedgehog and a Fox.  A lot of people have written about this, including Jim Collins in "Good To Great".  Most experts believe that successful organizations and leaders take the Hedgehog approach, which means taking all the complexities of the world that we live or the industry that we operate in and simplify it down into one simple approach or business model. This theory suggests that an organization needs to know what it does best and not try and complicate matters by expanding too far or diversifying beyond their capacity or expertise. 

The Fox approach is the organization who wants to understand it all, take it all in, and try and adjust fire to what the world or industry is going through.  These types of organizations typically have their hands in a lot of different disciplines or even products and can sometimes lose an identity, especially as it relates to financial success.

I personally was on the fence about this because I see the merits of both.  I think it has a lot to do with the industry you work in and where you are in the life of your organization.  I agree that no one group or leader can do it all and certainly concede that by doing many things at once, their is the possibility of the product being diluted and the standard of excellence dropping.  However, I see the advantage of being able to flex as an organization.  When you have the right people on the team, the path and method of getting to your goals can change constantly and it won't affect the success of the organization.  In fact, with the right team in place, you will find new and better ways to reach your goals. AND, your goals might actually change for the better!

I've been thinking about this in terms of the different projects VAP is involved in and believe it is the number one question to focus on right now as we continue to get requests to partner, produce, and perform in projects all over the country.